His website is @: FeedMyWheels.com
Josh Winston is a self-described problem solver. From his spacious office on the seventh floor of a high-rise building in Bethesda, Maryland, he fills out tax returns and keeps the books balanced for a number of his accounting clients.
“Everything on the left always equals everything on the right. For math-oriented people and musicians like me, that’s very satisfying,” he says.
Four years ago, Winston was watching a late-night news program and saw a segment about converting diesel vehicles to run on alternative fuels. That night, Winston was hooked. He ordered a conversion kit for $900 and proceeded to convert a truck to run on used vegetable oil — just to see if he could.
Soon after, he converted his 1998 Jetta and affixed a sticker to the rear bumper that said, “This vehicle runs on straight vegetable oil.” Source/Full Story:: CNN.com
On a bit of a downbeat note, if you do convert your vehicle to use vegetable oil, the government just might come after you for taxes.
Consider, David Wetzel, a 79 yr old retired chemist from Decatur IL. He’s been using recycled vegetable oil to “gas up” his 1985 Volkswagen Golf diesel car for 7 years. He has shown off his car in energy fairs, universities and exhibits. In Jan, the IL Dept. of Revenue sent 2 “special agents,” Gary May and John Egan to his house.
The two agents threatened the couple with felony charges and asked them to post a $2,500 bond! Why? What did these alleged criminals do?
Mr. and Mrs. Wetzel had the nerve to go to local restaurants, collect the used veggie oil, and make his own biodiesel (gasp) for his car! Since, they did not pay for the gas at a pump, they were paying no taxes. Hence, a bill for about $244.24. Mr. Wetzel agreed to pay it. Source/Full Story:: Daily Kos: Use Vegetable Oil for Your Car? PAY UP OR ELSE! (with poll)
3 Comments
I’m a big fan of veggy oil conversions, but Mr. Winston is either a fool, or misleading the interviewer in this article. He claims his emissions have been cut in half. While it’s true that pure veggie oil puts out less THC, CO2, CO and NOx compared to ULSD, the decrease is far from half. Also, he implies that the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will help save a glacier is just ludicrous. Assuming that CO2 is killing off glaciers, the reduction from a veggy oil engine is minimal. See the testing that was done by the National VegOil board here:
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/01/30/national-vegoil-board-gets-a-test-of-straight-veggie-oil-emissio/
Kudos for such creativity… and don’t worry about the CO2 emissions, you’re within the natural carbon cycle. For example: corn absorbs CO2 and makes kernals; kernals are pressed for oil; oil is combusted and releases CO2 which is then re-uptaken.
Remember folks: it’s the carbon that’s taken up from the ground (coal, oil) that is the problem.
Terrific! This is a great way to recycle all that oil from the restaurants. And…the more we use veggie oil, the less we need to rely on importing foreign oil. Wherever we can do to conserve, preserve our environment and keep our dollars in our own pockets.